The Braille App Brings Touchscreen Technology to the Visually Impaired

Braille dependent persons have long been excluded from participating in the powerful revolution of touchscreen technology, but thanks to the Braille App the visually impaired can now engage with tablets with a new-found level of ease. The app was developed by NMSU undergraduate Adam Duran, Stanford Assistant Professor Adrian Lew and Stanford Doctoral candidate Sohan Dharmaraja, attempts to bring Braille to the iPad. It was created as part of the Army High-Performance Computing Research Center's (AHPCRC) two-month summer immersion course.

Most Braille laptops are expensive and not at all practical in most day-to-day scenarios. Using the eight-button keyboard the team managed to create keys capable of orienting themselves to the correct finger when the user touches the screen. The digital buttons are fully customizable, adjusting to accommodate the size of the user's fingers, and how they hold their hands while typing.